1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shade system that removably attaches to the brim or bill of a hat, such as a baseball cap, wherein the shade system has a downwardly depending shade extension that helps shield a user's eyes from glare that is otherwise not blocked by the bill proper
2. Background of the Prior Art
People wear hats, such as baseball style caps, for a variety of reasons, including to show team support, protect their head from wind and the sun, especially if the person is partially or totally bald, and to protect the user's eyes from glare caused by sun and other sources.
Although the bill of the hat often provides sufficient anti-glare protection to the wearer, especially if the sun is high in the sky and the person is predominantly looking straight forward, such as when driving, the bill of the hat has its limitations in shield one's eyes from glare. Often, the wearer must look upwards toward the sky, for example, when trying to catch a baseball. During the upward look, the bill of the hat ceases to provide some, if not all of its anti-glare protections. During the winter months, or in the mornings or evenings, the sun can often be in the direct sight path of a person who is otherwise looking essentially straight forward. Sometimes, the sun bounces off a ground surface, such as when a person is boating and the sun reflects off of the water, so that the bill of the hat does not offer full anti-glare protection. In many glare causing situations, the sun is not the problem, rather artificial light offers the annoying glare, such as during a night baseball game with the powerful stadium lights being in the line of sight of a person.
These and other glare problem situations have prompted people to take defensive action to cut down on the glare, which glare can be annoying, such as not being able to see the spectacular line drive snag by the shortstop, to being potentially dangerous, such as when the water's glare causes a person navigating a water vessel to lose sight of other vessels operating nearby.
The simplest way to cut glare is to use a hand to shield one's eyes. While effective for ad hoc glare, this method of reducing glare is not very feasible for extended or long-term glare reduction, especially if the person has need for both hands to perform other functions.
Another relatively simple solution people employ to block out glare is to wear sunglasses, specifically polarized glasses, which, depending on the specific model, can dramatically reduce the encountered glare. While using eyewear to cut glare can be effective, this glare cutting method also has its limitations. Some people wear regular glasses and cannot simply don sunglasses to cut glare, for fear of losing a substantial portion of their visual acuity. While such persons can obtain prescription sunglasses, such sunglasses can be expensive, and many people do not want to carry two sets of glasses. Additionally some people simply do not like to wear sunglasses at any time. Furthermore, the use of sunglasses may not be appropriate when artificial light is the cause of the glare.
Others have proposed anti-glare systems that work in conjunction with the hat that is being worn. These systems have an additional layer of shielding against incoming light above the standard bill of the hat. These anti-glare systems, which vary widely in their design and architecture, and which work with varying degrees of efficiency, suffer from one or more drawbacks. Many such systems are essentially permanently attached to the hat, often requiring an alteration to the hat, which alteration may be substantial. Many people are unwilling to deploy such a system as such people are unwilling to make the necessary alterations to the hat and/or do not want the system to remain permanently resident on the hat, as the system may be unattractive or may block the emblem on the hat, which emblem the hat wearer is trying to promote. As such systems may be permanently or semi-permanently attached to a given hat, they require the purchase of multiple systems if a person wants protection on multiple hats.
Some systems are unusually complex in design and construction so as to make such systems relatively expensive to produce and obtain. Additionally, the complexity of the system may require a relatively long time to deploy the protective features of the system, which time length can prove unworkable to person who needs anti-glare protection when his favorite team is first and goal and is on the one position of the field where the stadium's lights are problematic. By the time the hat's anti-glare system is deployed, his or her team may already be kicking the extra point.
What is needed is a system that helps cut down on glare experienced by a hat wearer to help augment the hat's permanent bill that does not fully cut down the glare. Such a system must not necessarily rely on the use of sunglasses or other visual optic type of technology. Such a system must not be permanently or semi-permanently attached to the hat and must not require that alterations be made to the hat. Such a system must be relatively simple in design and construction and must be quickly and easily deployed.